Because everything's better after the Review!

AD REVIEW: Airtel #OpenNetwork

If you’ve watched TV or even youtube for that matter, there’s a good chance you had the misfortune of watching this ad.

No, wait don’t watch it. The only thing worth watching on that link is the comments of disgruntled viewers and Airtel consumers. Probably the comments are the reason why the video got half the views that it did.

What is this ad?List of individuals of different age groups, stereotypically annoying youths asking for transparency in this ‘relationship’. Over-slapstick sardar for racial stereotype. Young mother with baby for emotion, lady with dog because not everyone likes babies, old couple for variety and a hippie-looking boy for good measure… All complaining about how their Airtel network sucks.

How does Airtel stop sucking?By telling them where their towers are. Yes, in fact the underpaid overacting actors demand to see these towers because that solves everything. To their delight how they can see the towers and possibly climb it threatening to jump every time their network fails them.

The rant
Who the fuck looks for towers when there’s a network issue.
How the fuck does knowing the tower’s location help solving network issues.
How the fuck does one access these towers on their mobiles when there’s no network.

The writer must be so proud, THIS right here is probably his career’s most viewed work. And it’s this.

What is this Open Network bull-crap?Probably created it for internal tracking or for investor-pleasing, some top boss must’ve been so impressed by his own suggestion he decided to make it open to the consumers.

Some marketing bloke probably forced into brainstorming for this project must’ve presented the transparency route hoping that would be the end of the project and please his boss, fail-packaging the concept thinking it’ll never see the light of day.

Boom. Approved, bitches. Deal with it.

Oh you think we spend your hard earned money on the airtel 4g girl travelling to cool places cracking 4G puns just because a marketing guy has a crush on her? Wait till you get a load of this. – Transcript to an investors addressal, subject to be edited.

Just imagine how knowing where an Airtel tower is solves the problem.

Bae: Come overBro: I can’t hear you.Bae: come over I’m home alone. Can you hear me?Bro: ….Bae: helloooBro: I heard you, wait lemme look up airtel towers to see if there is one close by or if they’re planning to make one close by so that my network connectivity improves in the foreseeable future.

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Where it all stopped making senseWell, it’s simple, you pay a bunch of actors to bitch about the brand, some of the problems highlighted are genuine consumer problems that people are dealing with due to lack of a simpler solution. You basically mock the people who buy your services by portraying those problems comically and sarcastically, and then show them sold on a completely pointless feature that is not even close to solving their problems. That on its own makes the ad cringe-worthy. The Airtel #OpenNetwork ad is basically a reflection of how Airtel views its users. So every person/actor showed in that ad, represents YOU, the consumer in one way or the other.

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Okay enough of the seriousness. Maybe, maybe we all got it wrong. Maybe the reason why they’re giving us the location of the towers is so that we can guide their customer service team because they know lesser than Jon Snow.

Or maybe they undershot their marketing budget the previous financial year and got ready to throw money on any ready idea that presents itself. Regardless of its quality.

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What are your reactions to this piece of art known as the Airtel #OpenNetwork? Or is there an unperceived perspective to this ad campaign that a commoner like yours truly couldn’t see through? Let me know in the comments section!

And in case anyone’s wondering, no, I did not get paid to do this roast. ~SDR